1. Technological Field
The present application relates to a system, method, and computer readable storage medium for data backup, storage, and retrieval. Particularly, enhanced features are provided by using metadata to create a catalog of the stored data.
2. Description of the Related Art
People conventionally store documents in paper form. For example, manuals for appliances, warranty cards, birth certificates, legal documents, medical records, financial documents, etc. are stored in countless file cabinets in homes across the United States. However, such paper file systems quickly become messy as their volume increases. Furthermore, these paper documents are lost for good if destroyed.
With the advent of scanning devices, the above-noted paper documents may be converted into an electronic file and stored on a hard disc drive (HDD), a floppy disc (or other magnetic storage device), a flash memory drive, or an optical disc (CD or DVD). Alternatively, online storage space has become available. There are several websites where people can upload their electronic photographs or other electronic files for remote storage.
HDD and online file storage sites may merely store all the documents in a memory device without any organization, or they may offer a conventional file management system/interface, such as WINDOWS EXPLORER that provides a user with a conventional tree structure including a hierarchy of folders, sub-folders, and data files.
In these conventional file management systems/interfaces, a user navigates through the folders, sub-folders and files. However, the only information the user has regarding the folders, sub-folders, and data files through this navigation process is their respective file names. In these conventional systems, the only way to know the content of the underlying file is to open the file. For example, if a PDF document of a will is stored on a conventional HDD or server that provides a conventional file management system/interface, a user may have to navigate through multiple levels of folders and sub-folders to reach the PDF document. Along the way, the user would only be provided with vague descriptions such as “My Documents,” “legal documents,” and “Will.” The file name of the PDF document itself (“Will”) only provides a generic description and does not provide the user with information of the content of the PDF file. For example, the files names do not provide any information regarding the terms of the will. In such conventional systems, a user must open the PDF document to view the contents of the file.